For you, I learned how to love
by Vahkhiin
Summary: As their hands intertwined together, he instantly brushed the back of her hand with his thumb. Clotif.


Admits his uncertain past and his unfortunate day yesterday, he chose to forget the past and only live in the present and hope for the future. He lay in bed recovering from the battle with Kadaj and as he closed his eyes he remembered the countless times he spent lying in a cold hotel but now here he was enjoying the warmth that surrounded him in their home. As he closed his eyes he thought of that smile that she had given him in the chapel yesterday, the way she stood and folded her arms across her chest, smiling proudly at him.

That was the day he told her everything. From the day he began loving her, to being the most important thing in his life. He told her everything. He wanted her to know it all.

He remembered how they sat at the chapel together last night.

She sat beside him with the tip of her toes breaking the stillness of the water. He too sat with his legs dangling down the side of the wooden panel. Their hands were almost touching, only a mere hair width separating their hands.

As he sat beside her he felt calm yet nervous from being so close to her. He had the words perfectly planned out earlier, but now, it was like a breeze had swept through his mind and taken away each and every word from his lips. He didn't know how to tell her everything.

But she was patient, she sat completely still as he struggled with thinking of the right words. At the side of her eyes she watched him nervously fiddling with a particular material hanging loosely from his knee. She thought it might have been a cut from Kadaj's sword earlier when they fought. But she chose to ignore it and continue staring at the still water beneath her toes.

She watched as a singular yellowish flower came floating across the water to join its other fellow mates at the middle. She found it funny how even though there was no breeze the flower was still able to float across aimlessly. Perhaps it was Aerith that made the water move.

And even though he was growing more nervous by the minute she just sat there obediently waiting for him to build enough courage; for she would wait for him forever if he simply chose to.

"Tifa," her eyes looked up in surprise at the call of her name. He stared at her calmly now, knowing that no matter what he had to say, she would listen. She always did.

"Cloud," she answered in response.

His eyes fell to the delicate hand that sat beside his; the hand that nurtures children and the hand that holds a child when it cries. The hand that held his through the toughest times and helped him see hope rather than giving up. She had the most delicate hands, the most angelic of hands he had ever touched, where a simple touch would give him the hope to keep going on.

Then he took her hand in his, holding the angelic hand and intertwining their finger together. He felt her tense at first, but then relax after his blue eyes touched hers. She stared into his eyes, almost as if she were staring directly into his soul.

As their hands intertwined together, he instantly brushed the back of her hand with his thumb. From that single touch he wanted to tell her just how he felt, but he knew that words and actions were important now. He always remembered what she had told him, that sentence that always lingers in his mind.

"_Words aren't the only way to tell someone how you feel." _

She was right all along. He didn't need to say it for her to know it. But sometimes, especially at this moment, he needed to tell her because he knew she wanted to hear it from his lips.

"I'm sorry," the words escaped his lips softly as he took his other hand and placed it on top of their intertwined fingers.

"Sorry for what?" she asked, looking slightly confused.

He guided their hands onto his lap and still brushed the back of her hand with his thumb.

"I'm sorry that I ran away from the truth," he said softly as he glanced toward the water, away from hers.

"Cloud," she said gently as she brought their linked hands to her lap.

He turned to her with tears in his eyes and said softly, "I'm sorry, Tifa, I never meant to upset you."

Her eyes began to tear slightly at the look upon his teary face. She unlaced their fingers and touched his face, guiding his head toward her neck as she held him. They sat together as she ran her hand up and down his back in a way to console him.

"You never upset me Cloud," she whispered to him, "You just made me worry."

He nodded against her neck and pulled back. She wiped his tears away with her fingers and gave him a reassuring smile. As he leaned close to her they watched the water together as he recovered from their sudden outburst of emotions. She leaned closer to him, leaning her shoulder on his. Somewhere in between watching the flowers floating and feeling their feet brushing up against each other, he took her hand in his again and intertwined their fingers together again.

He brushed the back of her hand with his thumb as they watched the flowers together. After several minutes he turned to her and watched as she watched the water. She was truly beautiful. The way her hair swayed with the breeze and the way her lips would sit in that familiar position and her eyes that always stared. She was his angel, the angel that taught him how to smile again. She was the angel that saved him from the world even when he had saved the world countless times.

Then as if realizing that he was staring at her, she turned her brown eyes and touched his gaze. He gave her a small smile and guided their laced hand to his lips. As he kept a firm lock on her gaze, he pressed the back of her hand against his lips. She smiled in return and shifted closer to him.

He looked down at the ring that sat nicely on her fourth finger. It had been a gift from him, a gift to tell her that no matter what, he wanted her to be with him. Even though he hadn't said anything when he gave it to her, she knew what it meant, and he knew she would know what it meant too.

"Tifa," he said softly, breaking the silence around them.

She stared at him patiently, waiting for him to finish speaking.

"I love you," the words escaped his lips nervously as he gauged her reaction.

She stunned him by smiling in response as she unlaced her fingers from his and touched his cheek. She brushed the back of her fingertips against his cheek and looked directly into his eyes.

"I love you too, Cloud," she replied.

A smile grew upon his lips as he heard her return the words he had said to her. She loved him too. Without thinking, he slid his arm behind her back and pulled her close, touching his lips gently against hers as they sat there together.

She drew back and looked into his eyes as he did the same to hers. They stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity, it wasn't until the sound of the rain started to fall that she blinked her eyes and looked at the water that was filled with many ripples.

"We should head back," she said with a gentle smile.

He nodded and said softly, "Home."

She nodded and pressed her lips gently against his and whispered, "Yes, our home."

He stood up first but their hands still linked together and as she stared up at him and him down at her, he couldn't help but wonder just how much he had been missing all these years. But he ignored his thoughts and decided to carry her before she could protest. He slipped his arms around her and hauled her up in his arms.

The sound of their laughter filled the chapel, and somewhere above the rainy clouds sat two angels who watched, their presence in the chapel now feeling stronger than ever.

His eyes fluttered open at the slight breeze of her scent and without doubt his eyes came to rest on her solemn figure lying beside him. Her eyes were closed but her thumb brushed itself softly over the back of his hand through their laced hands that curled near his chest.

She was the definition of beauty in his eyes. He loved how her hair would flow down over her shoulder and down near her waist, and the way her lips would always have a smile planted on them even when she wasn't smiling. But most of all, he loved her delicate hands, her gentle hands that now sat between his, like two puzzles fitting with each other almost as though as if their hands were made to fit each other.

And as her little ministrations continued he shifted closer to her and engulfed her petite frame in his arms. Almost as if he was protecting her from the world. She didn't open her eyes but a smile instantly grew upon her lips that he now kissed. He nestled his nose against hers and lay there as still as he could be with only their heart beats beating together on the same beat.

As they lay there together, he closed his eyes and thought to himself about how much he had so surly missed all these years. But you know what, he has a second chance to experience it again and he wasn't going to waste time running away from the truth. He wasn't going to face the world by himself; he is going to face the world with her.

---

As he looked down at her in his arms he pressed a gentle kiss at her temple and began to walk out of the chapel.

"Tifa," he began, his voice sounding almost like a child.

She turned her eyes to him.

"Would it be okay if I quit Strife Delivery Service?"

"I… I thought you loved doing that?" she asked.

He looked into her eyes and shook his head as he said, "No, not anymore."

Her silence made him nervous as he walked down the streets towards their home. Passer Byers only smiled at them as they walked past.

"I think," she said as she buried her head in the crook of his neck, "that I could make use of your help in Seventh Heaven, if you don't mind."

"I don't know," he began and watched as her head perked up and her eyes flashed a questioned gaze at him. He smiled and continued, "I mean, having you as my boss, it sounds tacky especially since we're personally involved."

The smile instantly grew upon her lips as she realized he had just said a joke. She swatted his arm playfully and nestled her head in the crook of his neck again.

"You are a cruel man Mr. Strife, but you know what?"

"What?"

"I still love you."

His sudden silence made her shift back as she looked questionably into his eyes. He smiled to her and pressed a gentle kiss at her lips.

"I love you too, Tifa."

And somewhere near the clouds sat two angels, one with long brunette hair and the other with spiky black sort of hair. They stared down at the couple and couldn't help but smile in relief and at the same time sadness. They had lost their friends, but gained lovers from them. Just like time moves on where one remembers the pain from the past, lives in the present and hopes for the future.

---

_For you, I learned how to love  
__And for that I can never thank you  
__I can never show you just what you did  
__Because what you did, is something no one can repeat_

_You did something that nobody could ever make me do  
__But you did, and you know what  
__I have and always will love you  
__Until the end of my days, I will always be beside you_

---

End.


End file.
